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Jason Bay
Jason Raymond Bay (born September 20, 1978 in Trail, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian Major League Baseball player for the New York Mets. In his young major league career, Bay has demonstrated well above average power to all fields. He has also shown good discipline at the plate — in , he ranked in the top ten in the National League in walks — although he does also strike out more often than the average hitter. On the bases, although he is not exceptionally fast, Bay is a very effective basestealer; in 2005, until he was picked off in the last week of the season, he had tied the major league record for most steals in a season without getting caught (21). Defensively, Bay was adept at handling the large outfield in Pittsburgh's PNC Park and is a dependable fielder. Through , he has made only seventeen errors in 5802.1 innings in left field (.986 fielding percentage). For a left fielder, he has a below average throwing ability according to The Hardball Times.Best Outfield Arms of 2006 - The Hardball TimesMore Guns in the Outfield: Center and Left Field - The Hardball Times Baseball career Early years Bay was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 22nd round of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft from Gonzaga University. In , Bay was assigned to the Expos’ High Single-A team in Jupiter. He began the year slowly, and in May he was moved to Clinton of the Midwest League. Bay reached base in his first 26 games, then went on to hit .362 and win the league batting title. In all, he batted .315 with 14 homers and 75 RBI on the year. He was dealt to the New York Mets on March 24, , for Lou Collier. The Mets dealt him to the San Diego Padres for Steve Reed at the 2002 trading deadline. He debuted with the Padres on May 23, , getting his first major league hit, a home run, in the 9th inning. Two days later, he suffered a broken right wrist after a hit by pitch. Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, PA.]] On August 26, 2003, Bay was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, along with Óliver Pérez and Cory Stewart in August in exchange for Brian Giles. He finished the season with a .287 batting average, four home runs, and 14 RBI in 30 games. Bay began the season on the disabled list due to surgery during the off-season, and did not join the team until May. Despite missing the beginning of the season, he still produced the best offensive numbers of any National League rookie. He hit .282 in 120 games, leading all major league rookies in home runs (26) and RBI (82). He also led all NL rookies in slugging percentage (.550), extra base hits (54) and total bases (226). With his 26 home runs, Bay broke a Pirates rookies record of 23 set by Johnny Rizzo in and matched by Ralph Kiner in . Jason Bay became the first Pittsburgh player ever to win the BBWAA Rookie of the Year Award, first given to Jackie Robinson (who the award was later named after) in 1947. Selected the NL rookie of the year by The Sporting News, Bay was the third Pittsburgh player honored with the award, after second baseman Johnny Ray (1982) and catcher Jason Kendall. Bay was also the first Canadian player to win the award. In 2005, Bay was selected to his first Major League Baseball All-Star Game as a reserve outfielder. He was the only player on either roster not to appear in the game at all. Bay also appeared in the 2005 Century 21 Home Run Derby, representing Canada in the nationality-themed contest; he was eliminated in the first round after hitting no home runs. Bay finished the season with a .306 average, 32 home runs, and 101 RBI, leading the Pirates in every major hitting category. Through the season, Bay was a career .292 hitter with 97 home runs and 306 RBI in 471 games over three seasons. Bay enjoyed an exceptional May of the 2006, when he hit .321 with 12 home runs (a Pirate record for home runs in a month) and 35 runs batted in. From May 22 to May 28 he hit home runs in six consecutive games, two short of the major league record held by Dale Long, Don Mattingly, and Ken Griffey, Jr. He had actually hit 10 home runs in ten games, but he had failed to hit a home run in one of the games (and hit two the next day). Following an aggressive Public Relations campaign by the Pirates in 2006, Jason Bay led all National League outfielders in All-Star voting. Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder even urged fans to vote for Bay during a summer concert at Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena.Bay flattered by All-Star push - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Bay became the first member of the Pittsburgh Pirates voted into the All-Star game as a starter since Andy Van Slyke. In the game, Bay went 1 for 3, with a single. After battling injuries, Bay's season was less productive, hitting .247 with 21 home runs and 84 RBI. Bay has had a much more productive 2008, hitting .282 with 22 home runs and 64 runs batted in through the All Star break. In a May series against the Chicago Cubs, Bay had extra-inning walk-off hits in back-to-back games; the first two walk-off hits of his career. A month later, he got his third walk-off hit of the season and his career with a 13th-inning solo home run against the Tampa Bay Rays. Boston Red Sox On July 31, 2008, Bay was traded to the Boston Red Sox in a three team deal that sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris to the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Brandon Moss, and Craig Hansen to the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Boston Red Sox. Rumors had been swirling leading up to the trade about a possible deal between the Red Sox, Pirates, and Marlins which would have sent Ramirez to the Marlins and Bay to the Red Sox. At about 2:00 ET on July 31st, just two hours before the deadline, ESPN reported that the deal was dead, and that Bay would likely be traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. However, about 20 minutes after the deadline it was revealed that the Dodgers had entered the deal and allowed the Red Sox to acquire Bay. Bay signed with the New York Mets in tahe last week of 2009 - a 4-year contract for $66 million, with an option for a fifth year - pending a physical. Jason Bay passed his physical, and was formally introduced as a New York Met in a press conference in CitiFieldon Tuesday, January 5, 2010 Personal Bay's sister, Lauren, is a professional softball player who pitched for Canada's team in the 2004 Olympics. Bay remains friends with Edmonton Oilers center Shawn Horcoff, who grew up in Trail with him. Awards and honors *Three-time NL Rookie of the Month (June, July and September, 2004) *National League Rookie of the Year (2004) *''The Sporting News'' NL Rookie of the Year (2004) *Tip O'Neill Award winner (2004 and 2005) - given to the top Canadian baseball player each season. *National League All-Star (2005, 2006) *Represented Canada at the World Baseball Classic *Represented Canada in the 1990 Little League World Series *May 2006 Player of the Month *Represented Canada at the 2005 Home Run Derby Records *Holds the record for most home runs at PNC Park with 60. *Second most Home Runs (14) by a visiting player (behind Lance Berkman- 18) and the highest batting average of any player with more than 100 at bats (.363, 58 for 160) at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. *4th all-time in Home Runs hit by a Canadian born player behind Larry Walker (383), Matt Stairs (249), and Jeff Heath (194). Pittsburgh Pirates *4th all-time with .517 slugging percentage *8th all-time with .893 on-base plus slugging (min 100 AB) *8th all-time with 138 Home Runs *10th all-time with 678 Strikeouts *11th all-time with .376 on-base percentage *16th all-time with 33 sacrifice flies *18th all-time with 34 hit by pitches Career statistics See also *Top 500 home run hitters of all time References External links }} Category:Canadian baseball players Category:Major league left fielders Category:San Diego Padres players Category:Pittsburgh Pirates players Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Vermont Expos players Category:Jupiter Hammerheads players Category:Portland Beavers players Category:Nashville Sounds players Category:Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Category:National League All-Stars Category:2006 World Baseball Classic players of Canada Category:British Columbia sportspeople Category:Canadian expatriate baseball people in the United States Category:Gonzaga University alumni Category:People from Trail, British Columbia Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:Players Category:Left Fielders Category:2009 American League All-Stars